Intro to TD 317 Theatre History

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Transcript of Intro to TD 317 Theatre History

Late AssignmentsAll assignments are due at the beginning of class unless otherwise noted (10:00am, not 10:01am)You can email in assignments, but a hard copy is due within 24 hours.Do NOT take it to the Main Office under penalty of eternal torment in some hellish nether dimensionEmail Correspondence Be sure to check email (particularly Canvas announcements)Give us 48 hours to respond to any email you send usIf you have "questions" about a grade, please observe The 24/7 RuleWait 24 hours to email us.Give us 7 days to sort things outAcademic IntegrityPenalties for plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty includeZero for the assignmentLoss of 50 points from final gradePotential suspension and expulsionCourse ContentIf you're talking about history, then discussions of gender, race, class, sexuality, colonialism, ability and any number of other potentially sensitive need to be on the table.I expect you to:Respect one another (if someone is talking, you're not).Be polite (what many people call "political correctness," I call "manners").Challenge and be challenged by one another.You will be required to read all material in this class and engage in discussion.If you are at all concerned about your ability to complete the assignments please meet with me before the 12th class day.Classroom PoliciesParticipation (40 points)Sam will take attendance via sign-in sheet every day.You are allowed THREE unexcused absencesAfter that, all other unexcused absences are 10 points off eachThere will also be minor assignments throughout the semester (in-class writing, posting to discussion boards)Failure to do these assignments will cost you points. Earn points by asking and answering questions, volunteering to read or perform, etc.This can earn you points over and above the 40 points.Lose points by falling asleep, carrying on distracting conversations, being unprepared to talk about the material Laptops and phones can be used in class but are raised hands: I will assume you are ready to answer questions and will call on you.Extra CreditThere will be a series of assignments over the course of the semester that you can do for extra credit10 points each, and you can do three total (30 points: a letter grade)Connected to seeing shows in townAssignments and Grading Again, Some MoreQuizzes (7 per semester, 10 points each, 1 dropped, 60 points total)7 quizzes, typically following major readingsAlways at beginning of class (after announcements)Drop the lowestQuizzes can only be made up or taken early for excused absencesOfficially Sanctioned Religious Holiday (due 2 weeks before)Absences for Performances or Official UT Team Events (due 2 weeks before)Pre-excused family absences (due 2 weeks before unless it's an emergency)Emergency illness with doctor's noteMidterm and Final Exam (50 points each)Includes 30 multiple choice questions covering material presented in class (by instructor AND fellow students)Includes EITHER a 2 page take home essay assigned during the reviewOR some in class short answer questions, your choice.Final Exam Multiple Choice will only cover the second half of the semesterFinal Exam Essay may cover entire semesterExams can be retaken or taken early only with excused absence (see above)Assignments and Grading ContinuedAll grading in this class will be done on a point system, with maximum total points for the class being 300 (not including extra credit). Presentations (2 per semester, 50 points each)You will have two group presentations this semester.One for each of the 12 primary texts we will be reading this semester.Spread out over the course of the semester.You have to read ahead for your presentation.You must do one BEFORE Spring Break and one AFTER Spring BreakRead through the syllabus and email Sam your top 4 choices for BEFORE and AFTER Spring Break (a total of 8 choices) by 10AM FRIDAYFolks from last semester, maybe sign up for the early ones?These presentations will be 15-20 minutes long, and include the following: One on-book scene performed for the class Information on the first production of the playInformation on a recent production or adaptation of the play.A direction and design concept for a version of this play to be staged at UT.Can include an adaptation, either one you write or one you find.2 page write up of your research, with reasons why we should produce your version of the playAnnotated bibliography (2 research documents per person)Assignments and GradingMoment of Honesty #1: Theatre history can be a boring, confusing and painful. For ME. Thousands of years over an entire planet in one semesterThe "vegetables" of the theatre majorTo meet these two problems head on. With this in mind, we will:Replace the chronological approach with the canonical approach.Part 1: The Western Canon, aka All the Theatre History You Need for the Cocktail PartyPart 2: Beyond the Canon, aka Theatre History is More Than Six Men in Three CitiesMoment of Honesty #2: A lot of Part 2 will be as new for me as it is for you.Frame our readings and research as geared toward producing artistic performances rather than scholarly texts. In other words, we are reading and researching as dramaturgs (more on that next class)Course OverviewThe BasicsMWF 10-11am, WIN 2.112Required Text: The Longman Anthology of Drama and Theatre: A Global PerspectiveAvailable online and at bookstore, often usedRentable, but maybe worth keepingAdditional texts will be posted to Canvas as PDFs or as linkshttps://utexas.instructure.comInstructor: Rudy RamirezTA: Sam BlakeRudy RamirezPhD Candidate in Performance as Public PracticeDirector, Writer and PerformerAssociate Artistic Director, The VORTEX Repertory CompanyOffice Hours: Fridays 11am-12noon, B.118

Sam BlakePhD Student in Performance as Public PracticeArtist and Scholar Office Hours: TBD

And now we're going to hear a little about you. Very littleNameArea of Focus (Stage Management, Theatre Studies, etc or different major)One thing that you think makes "good theatre"Dramatis PersonaeImagine that we are part of a new theatre company called Company 317. We've produced a blend of American classics and new plays.Beloved by audiences and critics alikeWe have just gotten word of a major new grant called the Performing History Grant. Joint venture between the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the HumanitiesAsking theatre companies around the nation to propose a season of three plays that "demonstrates the continued relevance and importance of theatre history in performance to the contemporary life of our nation." Season can include:Historical works performed under original practicesHistorical works performed under modified original practicesHistorical works performed in an alternative time or place than originally writtenNew adaptations of historical works by contemporary playwrights or devising companiesEach play we read in this class is up for consideration as part of our season. You will each choose two of these plays for group presentations in which you will advocate for the play being part of the season, performed in one of the manners listed above.Welcome to Company 317Intro to TD 317D: Theatre History Since 1800For Next ClassListen to the Hamilton soundtrack.Go over syllabus: any questions?Acquire Longman Anthology for readings next weekEmail Sam by 10am Friday with your top 4 plays for both BEFORE and AFTER Spring Break.More Classroom Policies and ResourcesDocumented Disability StatementThe University of Texas provides on request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. Please present a letter prepared by the Service for Students with Disabilities (SSD) Office within first two weeks.http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/ssd@austin.utexas.edu(512) 471-6259 [voice] (866) 329-3986 [video phone]Behavior Concerns Advice LineIf you are worried about someone who is acting differently, you may use the Behavior Concerns Advice Line to discuss by phone your concerns about another individual’s behavior.http://www.utexas.edu/safety/bcal(512) 232-5050 Title IXThe University is committed to maintaining a learning environment that is free from discriminatory conduct based on gender. UT encourages any student or non-student who thinks that he or she has been subjected to sex discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault/violence, interpersonal violence (including domestic and dating violence), stalking, or sexual misconduct by another student, member of the faculty or staff, or campus visitor or contractor, to immediately report the incident to any of the individuals persons or offices listed below. Title IX covers all gender orientations, identities, and expressions.Institutional Title IX Coordinator: TitleIX@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-3992Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Students: equity@austin.utexas.edu Student Emergency Services Office of the Dean of Students , 4.104 Student Services Building (SSB) 512-471-5017Voices Against Violence, a program of UT’s Counseling and Mental Health Center, offers further resources: http://www.cmhc.utexas.edu/vav/index.htmlCourse OverviewReasons why the second semester is easier:We are covering 215 years rather than more than 2500.Imperialism and globalization puts all these pieces in conversation with one another.Many of these are familiar.I have read or seen all of the plays this semester and directed a couple of them.For those who were in my class last semester, there are some changes:Fewer quizzesNo big paperPresentations spread out throughout the semesterThis does mean you need to read aheadWe're taking attendanceTheatre History's Guide to StyleI asked "What do you think makes good theatre?" because a lot of our fundamental ideas about what makes good theatre have been around for less than 200 years. My goal for this class is for you to think about how your ideas of good theatre have been shaped by history, and for you to use this knowledge to develop your own theatrical style.Unit 1: The Realist RevolutionHow did a genre decried as vulgar and celebrated as world-changing become the most recognizable and accepted theatrical style in the Western World, and does it still have that revolutionary potential?Read: The Doll's House, The Cherry Orchard, A Raisin in the Sun, Death and the King's HorsemanWatch: El NogalarUnit 2: The Theatrical is PoliticalHow and why have people rejected Realism as an inadequate means of telling a story, particularly when that story has a political message? And how do you pronounce Brecht?Read: Mother Courage and Her Children, The Physicists, No Saco Nada de la Escuela, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, Top Girls, Angels in America: Millennium ApproachesWatch: Not I, Black WatchUnit 3: Melodrama, Minstrelsy and MusicalsWhat are the troubling roots of this distinctly American (or is it) genre, and how are artists today confronting and moving forward from that history?Read: Uncle Tom's CabinWatch: West Side Story, Passing Strange